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Pick your avatar, customize your loadout, and extinguish your rivals in this homegrown jailbreak-themed shooter. VR has become a beacon for low-budget breakout hits; the success of Beat Saber and Onward in this space would not be possible in the saturated indie market of traditional flatscreen gaming. As such, VR isn’t just an exciting frontier

There’s a strand of VR madness that really works. Accounting+ embraces inevitable moral panics and judgment-free murder to create something entirely surreal. Job Simulator finds fun in the mundane, letting you live out your stupidest daydreams free from consequence. As the name implies, Mosh Pit Simulator has a slightly more traditional take on the zany possibilities of VR. It’s essentially a Goat Simulator wannabe inside a headset. I’m sorry to say the results are profoundly less interesting.

Don’t get me wrong, I had my giggles inside Mosh Pit Simulator’s creaky sandbox. Attaching missiles to a whale’s fin and then watching it corkscrew off into the sunset or punching rubbery humans through windows 50 stories high will always be at least a little funny. But it’s laughter I’ve already enjoyed in other, better games, and it wears too thin too fast.

If anything, this feels like a cautionary tale. Yes, there’s fun to be had being the last human on earth, but be careful what you wish for. Mosh Pit Simulator is set in a relatively small open world in which human’s bones have been turned to rubber and their brains resemble mush. In the sandbox mode, you can summon missiles and rotators that will send them and other objects spiraling off into space. It’s broken more often than not; humans clip through walls, collisions end with objects disappearing and the screen can stutter with how much it has to handle.

But any laughter you might get from it rings hollow across the game’s unsightly streets. These aren’t happy accidents; they’re glitches for the sake of glitches. Mosh Pit Simulator seems content with laughing at VR’s limitations rather than finding the deeper humor in what it does right. The world is also empty; there are some NPCs around but you have to summon most of them yourself in a shop. In the game’s single-player story (essentially a glorified tutorial), giant animals tour the town like clockwork. It fleshes the world out considerably. If the sandbox mode itself were this unpredictable I might find a reason to spend more than a few minutes inside it.

As it stands, this world feels dead and not intentionally so. There’s no audible impact when objects collide, making spectacular crashes feel lifeless. You can stick any two objects together but there often isn’t much point to it. The truth of the matter is that there just isn’t that much to do.

Now, I realize that I probably just don’t ‘get it’. I know that I’m being a Scrooge here and that people may mine hilarity from Mosh Pit. It’s probably the same people that find Drunkn Bar fight funny (I don’t). And, hey, more power to you. This has enough ammunition to fuel a few hours of streaming madness for sure. But a VR game that’s ultimately better watched than it is played is not something I can recommend.

Mosh Pit Simulator’s current state is a bit of a disappointment, then. This is all just the start, though. The game’s kicking off a proposed six-month Early Access phase today. If Mosh Pit

VR startup Vreal is opening up the audience for its service more widely with the addition of a desktop mode for its streaming platform.

The Vreal service is integrated with a number of VR titles including Tilt Brush, Superhot, H3VR, Gorn, Blocks and Fantastic Contraption. The app allows folks to record their session in a virtual world for playback later. This new mode lets viewers navigate around a recorded scene to see the action from another angle without needing to put on a VR headset.

This new mode could be useful for folks who spend a lot of time in one of the compatible titles and want to grow an audience for those experiences. The app should let viewers get closer to the action than a traditional Twitch stream. In particular, creators in apps like Tilt Brush or Blocks might be able to explain how they are making something to future viewers who get right up to see every brush stroke.

The company uploaded the following video to demonstrate the new mode.

Vreal remains in early access on Steam. Earlier in January, the company added support for Gunheart, representing the first game built in Unreal Engine to get support for the service.

We’re curious to see what 2019 has in store for Vreal. There is still little in the way of details regarding next generation PC-based VR headsets and those new systems could have a major impact on adoption and usage of a streaming platform like Vreal. We’re expecting major updates in the coming months at events like Mobile World Congress, Game Developers Conference and even E3 which could reshape the market.

Facebook this week hosted their Q4 2018 earnings call, reporting their finances for the quarter. During the call Facebook Chief Financial Officer (CFO) David Wehner stated:

Payments & Other Fees revenue was $274 million, up 42%. Sales of Oculus Go and the launch of Portal contributed to the revenue growth in the quarter.

This is the first time Oculus has been mentioned as a revenue source. In 2016 after the Rift launch Wehner had very different news, stating “It’s not going to be material to our financials this year.”

This seems to indicate that the Oculus Go is selling much better than Rift ever did. Remember these are revenue figures, not units, so multiple Go headsets need to be sold to generate the same revenue as one Rift.

At Oculus Connect 5, Oculus CTO John Carmack claimed Go headset sales “exceeded even my expectations”- and that he had been “the most optimistic”.

It’s important to note that “Payments & Other Fees” is the smallest section of Facebook’s revenue. The company’s main business is still advertising, which brought in over 98% of revenue.

Marketing Costs

The notable Oculus Go revenue didn’t come for free, however. Facebook’s total expenses were up by $1 billion – an increase of 62% compared to this time last year. When explaining this increase, Wehr included the marketing cost of Oculus Go:

In addition to continued investment in infrastructure, safety & security, and innovation, expenses were also driven by seasonal factors – including marketing efforts, notably the promotion of Portal and Oculus Go.

This likely refers to the celebrity marketing campaign Facebook threw in fall. Wiz Khalifa, Jonah Hill, Adam Levine, Leslie Jones, and Awkwafina were enlisted in an effort to sell the standalone headset. While Facebook doesn’t break down its marketing expenses in detail, we don’t imagine those stars work for cheap.

Longer term, I remain very focused on building technology that brings people together in new ways, including through AR and VR. I’m looking forward to Oculus Quest shipping this spring — the feedback there so far has been very positive.

CFO David Wehner went into more detail, explaining that the company plans “to continue to invest aggressively in the priority areas, including on the innovation side with AR/VR and AI”. This is consistent with past Facebook statements, including that spending would increase 40-50% in 2019 due to VR, AR, and more.

Profitability

No comments were made about the profitability of Go- only about raw revenue. At $199 it’s likely the headset is sold at or near cost. The Oculus Store is where the profits should come from.

But this early in the VR market Facebook may not care about profit yet. In a 2016 earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg described VR’s profitability as “a 10-year thing”. But what does seem likely from this week’s comments is that Oculus Go is selling better than Rift ever did.

The vast majority of Oculus Go apps are best played with a motion controller. But there’s no denying that some games and experiences simply play better with a gamepad. Good news, then; SteelSeries’ latest product is an Oculus Go gamepad designed for gamers.

The SteelSeries Stratus Duo launched this week for $59.99. It comes with all the usual bells and whistles; dual analog sticks, four face buttons, a d-pad, and shoulder buttons. SteelSeries is keen to mention that the kit works with both the Oculus Go and the Gear VR headsets, though. It connects via Bluetooth.

The Stratus Duo also comes with over 20 hours of rechargeable battery life. It weighs in at 245g. Inside the box you’ll find a wireless USB adapter (which you won’t need for VR) and a Micro-USB charging cable.

Outside of Go and Gear, the Stratus Duo also supports Windows PCs and Android devices. It’s also compatible with Steam games, so you could use it with your Vive, Rift and Windows VR headsets too. With a Stratus Duo in hand, you can play some Go games that require a controller like the Herobound series. Other games like Republique also just play better with a gamepad.

You can also use console gamepads you already own for Oculus Go gaming but support can be finicky. It might be the more expensive choice, but a dedicated controller is definitely the better way to go if you’re serious about an Oculus Go gamepad. Whether or not the Stratus Duo is the best option we can’t say just yet; we haven’t gone hands-on with it ourselves.

Undeterred by recent layoffs, VR broadcasting app NextVR is announcing a new partnership with the National Hockey League today. Get ready for NHL VR highlights.

NextVR is set to showcase highlights of key NHL games from the 2019 season in VR. The app now features a new NHL channel that will store the stereoscopic 3D content. To kick things off the company launched a VR experience captured at the All-Star Game in San Jose, California last Saturday. Content consists of post-game highlights so expect goals, saves and, of course, some good ol’ fashioned beat-downs.

It doesn’t look like there will be any live coverage of the games, but NextVR produces some of the best and clearest video we’ve yet seen in VR. It’s also free to watch around the world, which certainly helps.

“Not every fan can experience our marquee events in-person, but NextVR’s immersive content will bring fans closer to the on-ice action than ever before and make them feel like they are at a live NHL game,” Chris Golier, NHL Vice President of Business Development, said in a prepared statement.

You’ll be able to watch NHL VR content wherever the NextVR app is. That’s basically everywhere: Rift, Go, Gear, PSVR, Vive, Windows VR and Daydream all support the platform. NHL joins NextVR’s coverage of other major sporting events like the NBA.

Earlier this month we reported that NextVR had held ‘significant layoffs’. Speaking to UploadVR, the company cited VR’s slow growth as the reason for the layoffs but insisted that the majority of the company and its work wasn’t affected.

HTC’s upcoming Vive Cosmos VR headset has now received FCC approval. The FCC is a US regulatory agency with responsibility over wireless frequency use.

FCC filings publibly disclose the exact wireless frequencies a device uses, as well as the peak power output of each.

The filing finally puts to rest the speculation as to whether the Cosmos would be a wired or wireless headset. The only listed wireless frequency is 2.402-2.48 GHz with an ultra low 2.5 mW power output. This is identical to the frequency and power output the Vive and Vive Pro use to communicate with their tracked controllers.

Image from FCC filing

Controllers send a relatively tiny amount of data compared to wireless VR. The WiFi connection on the Vive Focus is in a similar frequency yet draws 558.5 mW – over 200x as much. And even that still wouldn’t be enough for high quality wireless VR.

Both the Vive and Vive Pro received FCC approval roughly four months before launch. However the Vive Focus had a delay of 7 months between approval and (western) launch.

At the Cosmos announcement event HTC was already describing the headset as “tethered”. However there was no cable visible. This led to speculation that it could have either optional wireless or that they could mean the headset was wirelessly “tethered”.

We reached out to HTC about this filing and a representative told us that at launch the headset will connect by “a tether to the PC similar to other Vives on the market today”. While HTC may well be planning a wireless adapter for Cosmos, what we know now is that the headset won’t have wireless built in.

The developers behind groundbreaking VR title Budget Cuts are working on a PSVR version of the game.

The stealth title started as an early HTC Vive demo allowing players to teleport from place to place and throw knives at robots. After a multi-year production cycle, Budget Cuts released for PC headsets last year with thrilling gameplay that was held back by some bugs. The game has seen several updates since release, though, and its recent reviews on Steam skew toward very positive.

right now we are working on a PSVR version of budget cuts – quest will require even more of a performance optimization but we will look into it once we are “done” with PSVR!

— Neat Corporation (@NeatCorp) January 30, 2019

The PSVR version Neat Corporation developers are working on is likely to have some significant changes to account for forward-facing tracking on the headset. Nevertheless, that’s a big new title to look forward to for PSVR headset owners. We reached out to members of the Neat Corporation team to see if there’s a planned launch date for this version and we’ll update if we hear back.

As far as Oculus Quest, developers might find difficulty bringing the game down to the forthcoming standalone and its Qualcomm-based chipset. If it does make the jump to Quest at some point, though, it could be a perfect fit for the wireless system as the PC version of the game makes excellent use of 360-degree movement freedom.

Developer Marko Permanto recently recounted some early designs for Budget Cuts. The video, embedded below, does a good job showing how the creators started to hone in on their intuitive teleportation and inventory system in the game.

Colin Farrell narrates this three-part animated adventure from the team at Atlas V. Atlas V, the development team behind AAA VR projects such as Six Years and Battlescar, have returned once again with yet another high-quality immersive experience that pushes VR storytelling in a bold new direction. Debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival ‘New

‘Traveling While Black’ details the importance of the Green Book for Black America in the early to mid 1900’s. For African Americans traveling through the ‘Deep South’ of the United States during the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s, The Green Book was an absolute essential publication. Penned by New York City mailman Victor Hugo Green in

Gaming giant Nintendo filed for a patent for a positional tracking system for glasses. The tracking is used to add a parallax effect to content on a 2D screen so it would appear 3D.

Despite being called ‘Eye Tracking Enabling 3D Viewing’, the system described actually tracks the glasses, not pupils. Multiple tracking methods are listed, including specific references to the use of an infrared camera and IR retroreflectors.

The user would be provided with the correct angle view of virtual objects. The glasses themselves could be frameless. This is similar to a Carnegie Mellon University research project from all the way back in 2007:

The described system in itself is not actually VR- to be clear. But the potential here is that Nintendo could build from this research if deciding to enter the VR market.

In 2016 Nintendo filed a patent for a VR headset design where the Switch would slide in. While the concept is similar to Samsung Gear VR, the patent was considered by many to be impractical due to the Switch’s weight and low resolution panel.

Back in August a group of hackers discovered a secret setting in the Nintendo Switch called ‘Test VR Mode’. A method called ‘SetVrModeEnabled’ was even discovered in the system code.

However as recently as January of last year, Nintendo downplayed their interest in virtual reality. A company representative stated “I doubt they can appeal to the mainstream”. Back in 2017, Reggie Fils-Aime claimed that there weren’t many “truly fun” VR games.

It’s clear that Nintendo is researching virtual reality and related technologies. But the company’s commitment to actually entering the market is much less certain. Given Nintendo’s ability to focus on fun core gameplay over flashy graphics however we very much so hope they do take a stab at VR.